IFCO banana crate

Reusable packaging specialist Ifco has released estimates quantifying the positive impact the company has had on the environment since it was founded in 1992.

According to a recently published life cycle analysis and previous damage rate studies, over the past 25 years, Ifco has eliminated 3.4bn kg of CO2 emissions, the equivalent of removing nearly 500,000 cars from the roads, and has prevented more than 951,000 tonnes of solid waste, enough to fill approximately 104,000 dump trucks.

The study also suggested Ifco had effectively reduced water consumption by 43bn litres, and saved 317,982 tonnes of produce from damage and waste.

“Our customers’ use of Ifco’s shared and reusable assets has been driving supply chains toward a global circular economy and advancing ‘zero-waste’ goals for 25 years,' said Wolfgang Orgeldinger, Ifco's CEO. “We are proud to work with our retailer and grower partners to improve the sustainability of the fresh food supply chain, and to nourish and improve the lives of people around the world.”

IFCO is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the company’s founding in 2017 with a series of announcements, events and a donation of €25,000 to food banks across Europe and North America.

“If all points along the fresh food value chain come together to consistently operate in the most sustainable way possible, future generations will thank us for passing onto them a better world than the one we inherited,” concluded Orgeldinger.